Power In the Blood

Oren Stolt understands the natural order better than most people. Vampires prey on humans and Undying keep the vampires' numbers in check.

Until now.

Now, across the United States, vampire numbers are exploding, thanks to a new church. The Tabernacle of the Firstfruits preaches a Risen Lord and invites believers to follow Him in death and resurrection... quite literally.

In Memphis, the church is about to host its first conference, with an eye to converting the whole world to the vampiric gospel.

And all that stands between humanity and eternal night is Oren, his kids, and a thin line of insane immortals.

The woman striding across the parking lot toward the now-closed Hepzibah's Wings bristled with weaponry. An untrained eye, like those of the two men leaning against the wall of the Mediterranean grocery, smoking, would see a tallish redhead, maybe five foot seven, in a black leather duster and sensible boots, wearing elaborate eyeglasses. Oren Stolt knew better. She was armed, and heavily. He might be dead tired, his own coat shredded from tangling with an ancient vamp earlier tonight—and why hadn't the local vampire organization put that poor, skeletal thing out of its misery?—but a blind man could see the way the coat swung heavily around her long legs, the pockets weighted, most likely with ammunition.

She walked with a slight limp, and he suspected a sword or a crossbow quiver strapped to her leg. Gang members didn't carry that sort of weaponry, not even in this part of town. If the Memphis PD caught her, it would be a trip to a holding cell at 201 Poplar for sure. But they never came down to this part of Orange Mound, where rap and Latin music warred for dominance with the half a dozen languages in the air. It was a favorite hunting ground for renegade vampires, who didn't adhere to the local rules.

She made her way up the deserted side street, fully alert even at this hour, which looked good only to suicides. Oren stepped out of the alley and tried to fake going about his business. Not that anyone had much business in this neighborhood at any time of day. Animal control was his business. He ran this territory, and no paranormal entered its boundaries without his people knowing—not vampire nor Undying—and she was likely the latter. Vampires didn't normally carry weapons. The Undying followed trouble, usually. A rare few arrived in advance. Neither sort was welcome.

He heard the distinctive sound of a crossbow's crank from behind him. That settled it. Undying for sure: only they used such archaic weaponry, finding crossbows well suited to their task.

"You, Ungodly. Stand and identify before I shoot you in the back." Her voice carried, cold and flat. He wondered if she was one of Jacob's Undying protégés. Oren never wanted to work with Jacob's people. It was said that the renegade Undying trained only psychopaths, and rumor had it he removed their pleasure centers before releasing them into the wild to hunt their own "ungodlies." Oren gave the last no credence—Undying could regenerate from anything, he'd heard.

He stopped in his tracks, raising his hands to show they were empty. "Oren Stolt. You one of Jacob's people?"

She stepped into his line of vision, the pistol grip crossbow loaded with a sharpened stake and a Magnum in the other hand. "No, I'm one of Lielit's."

Oren breathed more easily. Lielit was one of the sanest Undyings he knew of. He'd heard she was a stickler for rules and for doing things right. All of the Undying went a little mad in some way, and obsessive compulsion was an easier shade of crazy to live with than full-blown homicidal mania. The trauma of waking up after being dead tended to shake an Undying's world to the foundations. The atheist ones had it worst, the stories said. At least the monotheists had a myth from Genesis to explain it, inadequate as the story was. Polytheists, rarer in this day and age, came up with their own stories, according to his mother's research.

Now all he had to do was stay alive long enough to explain who he was.

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Jenre at Well Read
"There was so much more that I enjoyed about this book: The mix of action and quiet, with a grandiose bloodbath of gigantic proportions towards the end which managed to retain a number of moments of pathos to offset the gore; the humour mixed in with the serious themes and sadness; the way that it took the Christian religion and subverted it slightly whilst retaining a respectful tone which, as a Christian myself, I found both amusing and thoughtful, without feeling offended in the slightest. The sheer breadth of the story which spans the whole of history whilst keeping the action mainly in close confines. I was charmed by this story, engrossed, slightly revolted a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed myself. At no point was I bored or wanted to put the book down. What an antidote to some of the books I've been reading recently!"

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Sean at World of Diversity Fiction
"All characters were likable. It was probably the first time I didn’t have one favorite character in the book because there were plenty of awesome characters and the author balanced each individuals really well. The author gave me plenty of background on each of them. Neither of them was less or more than others. That was what I had been searching for in a book. Even better, all of the characters were bisexuals. Now besides the sexual preference, the whole story was fantastic. The mystery, the horror, and the actions were amazing. I enjoyed everything about the book and I couldn’t find anything that bothered me while reading. There was plenty of blood, which was normal because vampires equal blood. I loved originality and this book had it. Highly recommended to vampires fans!
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Pixie at M/M Good Book Reviews
"This book is not for the faint of heart, so if you hate blood, guts, dismemberment and extreme violence then don't look at this book. If you want a happy-ever-after where people fall in love... then don't look at this book. If you want a happy conclusion where everyone got what they wanted... then don't look at this book. If you want a story that is filled with action, fights, blood, gore, a lot of implied sex, hate, fear, failed hopes and a gigantic violent bloodbath in a church... then this is the book for you. It kept me happy! ;)"

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Cheryl at Top 2 Bottom Reviews
"Power in the Blood is not a light read, I found it had many characters, twists, and turns. There were several times this was a difficult book for me to read. Ms. Sparrow does have a gift of writing a descriptive story with interesting characters. Though this was a little too much for me, I know there will be readers out there that will enjoy this book. If you like reading about a lot of erotic sex, throw in some blood and gore on almost every page then you should definitely give this book a try."